Simon Smith (vocals), Jay Cowley (guitar, backing vocals), Jonathan South (guitar, backing vocals), Gavin Treliving (bass, backing vocals) and Kez Whelan (drums) are Damn Craters a raw and ready stoner/hard rock (although they prefer to call it "Gravity Rock") band from the home of Robin Hood and Raleigh Bikes, Nottingham.
The band, whose influences range from Pink Floyd to Soundgarden, have just released their first self-titled three song EP "Damn Craters".
"Bin Money" bursts intro-less from the speakers, like an alien erupting from John Hurt's chest, on a wave of grizzled impassioned vocals and fuzz soaked riff'n'rhythm, pinning the listener to the floor with the ferocity of its attack. Smith spits out lyrics telling of being "nurtured in the womb of a gitane" (gypsy woman) over a backdrop of heavy stoner groove, his snarling anger laced voice the perfect match for the gnarly distorted riffage all around it.
"Monomyth" is next and sees Damn Craters mixing into their gritty stoner grooves shades of dank doom colouring and textured psych that sees Smith slightly tailoring his vocals to compliment the darkness while Cowley and South lay down a dense variety of crunching riffage and swirling guitar solo's superbly backed by Treliving's throbbing bass and Whelan's pulverising drums.
"Fighting In The Caves of Drach" takes both the doom and psych aspects of the previous track and expands on them, weaving them in and around the songs intoxicating groove, the music's dynamics constantly shifting through the gears with Cowley and South swooping off into the stratosphere on glorious tangents of six string majesty that are only anchored to the ground by Treliving's delicious bass lines and Whelan's mix of intricate and pounding percussion. Smith's voice meanwhile moves from a hushed whisper to a raging torrent in a heartbeat, living inside the lyrics, feeling them, breathing them, when he sings the lines "the universe created these molecules, now you think you own this earth, well I can tell you, you fucking don't" you know he means it!
"Damn Craters" is a superb EP that uses that old showbiz adage of "always leave 'em wanting more" to great effect...because you will!
Check it out......
Thanks,for the flattering review. Plenty more where that came from. See you at a show sometime.
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